A survey of student attitudes to a sequential assessment method in engineering

Abstract

An assessment scheme, specifically designed for open-ended engineering type problems, has been developed and implemented in an engineering undergraduate program. The scheme was designed to promote higher levels of student learning by rewarding those who were able to go beyond standard textbook solutions in their work and demonstrate a deeper level of understanding. The scheme, referred to as the sequential approach, has been applied and gradually refined over the last five years based on some constructive and encouraging feedback from students. Since it is believed that student acceptance of any assessment method is important, students across three years of a four year undergraduate engineering program were formally surveyed with the aim of eliciting their views on the scheme. The study has found that students understand and appreciate the scheme, and that a large part of the acceptance is based on the belief that it is more representative of the way their work will be judged in the workplace. They also recognise that it rewards work of a higher quality.